Shifts
by McStaken
Summary: 24 hours, rotating teams of heroes, one orbiting space station. A collection of stories about what happens aboard The Watchtower
1. Prologue: Membership Exclusive

Prologue: Membership exclusive

Space, Hal Jordan didn't really _mind_ space. Though it wasn't his kind of thing. He preferred planets with gravity and air drag and resistance. All the things that made tricking it into letting him soar like a bird fun and exciting. You could tell he was a bit of a flyboy, Hal Jordan turned into a massive ten year old at the sight of anything with aerodynamic capabilities.

At the sight of a space station?

He felt apprehensive. Although he really shouldn't, he knew who he was on shift with.

There are some groups that just gel together. There's no need for bonding on the battlefield, no blood spilled in the name of friendship, no learning curve that comes with a stranger becoming another extension of yourself. Sometimes, it just happens. You make eye contact with someone and you just know that you'll work easily with them and probably have a hell of a time doing it too.

The three heroes had always gotten on like a house on fire, ever since their first rotation together back before the Mt Justice fiasco and they'd all sensed it. Barry _"The Flash"_ Allen, Hal _"Green Lantern"_ Jordan and Oliver _"Green Arrow"_ Queen. For the next year - barring emergencies - they would be working together on the newly built, not even broken in yet Watchtower.

They were all well known jokers and now they'd been given free reign of a state of the art _Batman-will-murder-me-if-I-break-it_ spacestation. What could possibly go wrong?

Truth be told, Hal wasn't nearly as concerned with destroying it as Barry or Oliver. He'd had experience with state of the art before, plenty of times. He was Ferris Air's ultimate test pilot when he wasn't being Green Lantern but heroics never paid the bills. 'So, why does Batman insist on having three heroes on the Watchtower at any given point?' Hal frowned once the bragging tour had been completed.

'Because he's paranoid?' Oliver snorted which caused Hal to throw him a look. 'Hey, I'm not saying it's not a good idea, but the CIA could take lessons from that guy,' Ollie shrugged.

'Yeah well, after Mount Justice, who can blame him?' Barry muttered and sank into one of the bucket seats that faced the bank of monitors and controls with a relaxed sigh. 'They really went all out on this place though.' He smirked. 'Even the seats. I call dibs on this one by the way.'

'You can have it,' Hal joked. 'I have a life.'

The two other heroes exchanged knowing grins. 'Hark who's suddenly confident, Ollie.' Barry quipped. 'I wonder why?'

'I have a date with Carol tonight,' Hal smirked. And this one would _not_ go pear shaped like the last six. Twice Sinestro had interrupted, three emergencies he'd had to intervene in and one Batman call. But this one - this one would go right. It had taken the limit of his persuasive skills to get Carol to even agree to one more date and Hal was determined it go wonderfully.

Oliver sank into a chair next to Barry. 'Batman didn't tell you I take it?' He chuckled as though delivering some particularly amusing bad news.

'Tell me what?' Hal demanded suspiciously.

'Batman introduced some new policies. Watchtower shifts are twenty-four hours long.'

'Sonova-!'

'Get comfy, we're going to be here a while,' Barry laughed and tipped the chair back with a flourish.

'Maybe the CIA _could_ take lessons from Batman,' Hal groaned. 'Twenty-four hours? It used to be twelve!'

'Yeah well, access up here's limited. The Zeta Tubes were upgraded to block unauthorized access and since there aren't that many of us with heavy experience...' Oliver trailed off.

'Great. Just great. Is that meant to be flattering? Cause it's not.' Hal groaned. Carol was going to flay him when he cancelled! No she would go Star Sapphire and destroy half of Coast City in a rage! Why him? Why did all his plans have to get ruined by Batman? 'Clark approved this?' He gaped. '_Diana_ approved this?!'

'Yeah.'

'How many people are authorized?' Hal demanded.

'Well, there's big blue, Sir Grim, Diana, Hawkgirl, me, you, Ollie, Oren, J'onn, Booster-' Barry ticked off fingers as he went.

'How the hell did Booster get on the list?' Hal demanded.

'I have no idea.' Oliver replied. 'But he is.'

Thankfully there were more people than he'd thought. Imagining a continuous shift with Batman almost made an extended mission in space seem attractive but he'd used up all his holidays and sick cover for the next ten years, as Carol just loved to point out. She practically owned his soul at this point.

Surreptitiously, he pulled out his phone and contemplated sending her a text but that was not how you broke off a last chance. Especially if you wanted another.

'I gotta go make a call.' He groaned and moved towards the brand new, state of the art kitchen as Barry and Oliver chortled in the background.

* * *

A/N: Hello! Welcome to Shifts. Basically my excuse to quietly giggle at the terrible trio - Barry, Hal, and Oliver - the Big Three - Clark, Bruce and Diana - and everything between. There'll be pranks and hilarity as well as serious moments. I won't even pretend to be up to date on the comics, at all. But I do quite heavy research. They will also be in no particular order or time-frame.

And the thought that if a team is entirely comprised of leaders, are they still a team?


	2. Who's the Queen?

**Chapter 1 - Whose the Queen?**

_Giggle._

'Nonono, put it at an angle-'

_Snort._

'How fast does this stuff work?'

'I dunno I got it from J'onn.'

_Laugh._

'He's going to kill us!'

'Shuddup it's funny,'

_Ow._

His hand shot up and grabbed for the strange touch before he'd even managed a coherent thought. If he managed to get a-hold of them long enough, they'd be dragged down to meet his other fist. It's a habit that had saved his life quite a number of times but when the culprit is a faster than light meta, his hand came up empty. Even he couldn't catch Barry Allen and Barry Allen loved to remind him because he was a goddamn show off. It didn't help they were neighbours. Starling City and Central city were only a five mile highway away, just his luck.

Could a man not sleep around here? Even with two of them it was a boring, thankless job of watching the scanners and drinking coffee which was the only reason he'd agreed to cover Booster Gold in the first place. Especially since before that, his night had consisted of getting several shades kicked out of him and terrible, _terrible_ Robin Hood jokes. They never really stopped with the Robin Hood jokes.

'What're you doing?' He mumbled thickly.

'Oh hey GA!' Barry tried to cover up the warble of humour in his voice and failed miserably.

'Swear to god Allen if you've done something to my hair-'

'Oh come on Ollie. Would we?' Hal asked.

_Abso-freaking-lutely._ Oliver sat up, more fool him for trying to catch forty winks around Hal and Barry and looked into their mirthful faces. It had been one hell of a night before Booster had begged him to cover and he had been kind of hoping to spend this shift recovering. 'What?' He demanded. 'What's so funny?' They said nothing but did chortle as he turned and felt something wobble on his head. The smell of solvents overrode even Barry's cloying aftershave. 'You two didn't...' He demanded and glanced at polished steel of a control panel. Was that a...Plastic crown? Glued to his hair?

'Your majesty!' Hal cackled and floated in the air just enough to bow but high enough to avoid having his teeth kicked in. Proof that Hal Jordan wasn't that much of a bone-head.

They were dead. So,_ so_ dead.

'Why?' He demanded and reached down for his bow.

'We were intending it for Booster, y'know because he's _that_ narcissistic, but when we found out you were swapping shifts with him -' Hal laughed.

'C'mon Oliver, it's hilarious.' But Barry's tone had swiftly changed as his hand found the upper limb of his beloved bow. Hal could stop every trick arrow in his quiver and knew it but Barry wasn't so invulnerable. A well placed explosive would knock him off his feet and that would be all the opportunity Ollie needed to nail him to the floor, he'd demonstrated before.

'I'd start running,' Oliver growled.

* * *

A/N: Hello again! I know I seem to be focusing on The Terrible Trio as I've called them, but the status will not always be quo. I do have other heroes and other shifts to work on too so you'll be seeing Batman, Superman, Orin, Wonder Woman and all your favourites. I may even do one or two shifts with the minor Leaguers. Anyway, enjoy!


	3. Sunny disposition

**Sunny disposition.**

Diana Princess of Themyscira was contemplating. Contemplating wasn't one of her normal habits but with little else to do, she was. Her object of utter devotion was the cowled, terrifying night terror that was Batman who was currently arguing with Superman about how to properly repair a solar shield array. They were so different and yet seemed to be more than amicable with each other. Perhaps even friendly and she didn't understand it.

No-one could ever claim to have seen Batman smile. Batman didn't smile. He'd smirked - when the occasion demanded it - and he'd laughed though those were far and few between - And Diana suspected they were grounded fully in sarcasm - but never smiled. Superman smiled all the time, the bright, hopeful smile of someone who wanted to make the world a better place. He laughed a lot, mostly self-deprecating with an open, friendly laugh.

Sometimes, she wondered how they could get on at all. It didn't seem possible but throughout all her observations, they did.

'Clark, I'm looking at the blueprints right now,' Batman growled.

'Bruce, are you sure they're not upside down?' Came the amused response.

'Of course!' Batman growled.

Although...Get on was a rather relative term.

'All I'm saying is, that it would take two minutes to check.' Superman replied evenly.

Batman switched off externals and leaned back to run his hands down his face. The shift was coming to an end and they were all tired, tempers were beginning to fray, though Batman would never admit to being human enough to need sleep. Diana watched him for a few seconds before she turned to look out into space. It was far more beautiful from up high.

'How are you two friends?' She smiled.

'Friends?' Batman returned. 'We're colleagues.' He turned away and began to bring up more plans, scanning each with an expert eye. She allowed him to spin out the silence until he turned back to her with a frown. 'Do we seem friends?'

'Yes.' She replied truthfully. She resisted the temptation to laugh. 'The best, Bruce.'

That was evidently not what he wanted to hear. 'I am not friends with Mr _Sunny Disposition_.' Batman growled.

'Really?' She wasn't falling for it.

'No. Clark,' Batman turned back to the speakers and re-engaged the conversation with the aforementioned "Mr Sunny Disposition" to avoid her. 'I think I know what the problem is.'

'Do you?' He sounded infinitely patient and chirpy. Using his _"Citizen"_ voice on him. The one he used in public. Judging by the set of Batman's jaw, he'd hoped that he would have dropped the act by now.

'You're what's upside down.'

There was a few moments of silence before Superman began chuckling. 'Whoops?'

Diana covered her own mouth to hide her smile and turned away.

They may not get on, but you can't tell her they aren't friends.

* * *

A/N: Lookit that. Something that isn't The Terrible Trio. Still cutesy but I can't (won't) write anything else at present. I'm having too much fun. Especially with goofy Superman. Cute and hilarious is my weak point. I'm sorry these seem mostly random at the minute, still settling into characters and random scenes make it easier for me to judge reactions. Plus you get little gems like this. Can you just see Batman facepalming? Cause I can.


	4. Idolized

Zeta tubes were all well and good but Hal Jordan did not like to use them very much. He'd seen that one episode of Star Trek where the transporters had malfunctioned and - well lets just say he isn't a fan. He will use them, when he needs to but he generally prefers making his own way to The Watchtower. Today, he was late because he'd been trying to wheedle another date out of Carol. This was pushing the boundaries now but he would not give up hope that they could have a decent, quiet meal without interruptions. It had to happen at some point...Right?

He made his way through the airlock, smelling of ozone and up through the levels that hummed to themselves until he reached control. Oliver and Barry were already there, Barry slumped over the impressive array of buttons with the top of his suit pulled down to show his face and Oliver with a hand placed reassuringly on his back.

'What's up with Barry?' Hal joked as eyes turned to the opening door but Oliver's swift head shake made it clear this was not a joking matter. 'Has something happened to Iris?' A note of alarm crept into his voice. Barry's wife was a lovely woman and as patient as a saint to put up with him and his meta-goofing. He would be immeasurably hurt if something had happened to the best thing his best-friend had in his life.

Barry turned to look at him with a glazed expression. 'No. No she's fine. It's Wallace.'

Relief. If Barry lost Iris there would be no consoling him. 'Your kid nephew? The one that idolizes you?' He thought aloud.

'That one.' Oliver agreed. 'You want to tell him or should I?' He asked gently. Barry flapped an arm in the universal sign of "Knock yourself out". Oliver sighed and turned to lean against the console that Barry was sprawled against. 'Wallace West was involved in a scene a few hours ago when they successfully repeated the incident that gave Barry his powers. It hit Wally.'

'Is the kid alright?'

'He's got the same powers as Flash.' Oliver shrugged. 'Define alright.'

The room filled with thoughtful silence as Hal picked over the new information and Barry wallowed in guilt. He felt bad for Barry, sure. He was always talking about how his kid nephew looked up to him and he didn't even know the full extent of his uncle's "Hobbies". It was bad enough for an adult in these situations but how can you look a kid in the eye and tell them they're different and they're going to be different for the rest of their lives? Hal Jordan sincerely hoped he was never forced to shatter someone's life like that, let alone a child's.

'I've screwed up his life.' Barry moaned from his seat.

'Now, I don't believe that.' Arrow replied sternly. 'That kid looked up to you.'

'How's his parents taking it?'

'How do you think they're taking it? They're blaming me!' Flash burst out and turned to look at Hal incredulously.

'Barry, calm down.' Oliver tried to intervene and cool his friend's temper but Barry was too far gone torturing himself.

'I have ruined that kid's life, you understand that? He'll never be normal. He'll be in danger constantly. That stupid incident is still screwing me over because now Wally's involved! His parents have every right to hate me, blame me! Hell, I blame myself!'

Hal stood there and let him rant because honestly, that was all he could do. He couldn't change Wallace West back to the normal, everyday kid he was before and he couldn't ease any of his uncles suffering for it, but he could stand there and listen and be there for him as a colleague. As a _friend_.

'Barry,' Oliver sighed. 'You've done more for that city than anyone else. Yes, Wally's not going to be normal anymore but that's far from your fault. It was a freak accident and you had no way of knowing that would happen. You need to stop blaming yourself and start managing it.'

Which did the trick as all signs of rage seeped away and left Barry Allen looking crushed and brittle. He crumpled back in his seat and sighed. 'What should I do? I can't leave him all alone to figure it out.'

'We all remember what you were like,' Oliver mocked good-naturedly. A queasy smile spread across Barry's face. It wasn't ok, but the ribbing and jibing at his ego made it almost seem that way.

'Yeah I guess.' He admitted and ran a hand through his hair.

'Why not make him your sidekick?' Hal suggested. 'Batman has Robin, Aquaman has Aqualad and Oliver has Roy.'

'I had no choice in that,' Oliver sniffed. 'But you have a point, Jordan.'

'You want me to put him in _more_ danger?' Barry demanded.

'You said yourself, Barry. The kid's going to be in danger no matter what. What better training is there?'

* * *

A/N:So Flash just premiered in the US. Those of us in the UK who aren't savvy enough to find a website hosting it have yet to see it _(So SHHHH!)_ and I feel this is about a good time to let this one out.

At this point I should probably express my utter adoration for The Flash. I'm serious, I'm a huge fangirl. There's something about the terrible puns, the inappropriately timed jokes and the mile-a-minute talking all hiding the insecure man beneath that greatly endears him to me. Come to think of it, that's almost word for word my reasons for loving Booster Gold. Go figure. I sincerely hope they bring all that to the new series.

I was intending this series to be completely silly antics but oh, look at that!_ Drama. _


	5. Of Shoes and Rings

It was one of those shifts. The ones where all you could bring yourself to do was stare out into space. Some might wonder the infinite possibilities of the universe beyond Earth, some might even consider the struggles and lives of the people below them - and then there were some whose thought processes you wouldn't be able to follow with a corkscrew.

'Hey GL,' Barry muttered from his station as he stared into the blackness of space.

'Wha'?' Hal grunted jerkily from his stupor. 'I wasn't asleep!'

'I was,' Oliver groaned and lifted himself from the counter to stretch.

'I was just wondering, are those Guardians you say you report to women?' Barry muttered, eyes never leaving the darkness.

Hal spent a few seconds walking up to understand the question and a few more turning it over and over. 'Explain,' he grunted. 'Why you would even_ think_ like that.'

'It's just...You've got a Green Lantern ring, yes? A magic, power ring.'

'Yes, what's your point?' He replied testily. It was too early for interrogations about what you could construct with it. Honestly, sometimes he worried for Barry.

'Hear me out big guy - and that changes your clothes whenever you think about it?'

'Barry, if you're just going to state the obvious-' Hal snapped. This was not the time for games, it was the time for coffee. Unfortunately he was too tired and cranky to get up and make one.

'How can the Guardians not be women?' Barry turned to look at their blank faces. 'Oh come on! Power in jewellery? The ability to change an outfit at a whim? the manipulation of emotion - might as well be weaponry in shoes!'

'Hey now - You don't get to say that unless a woman threatens you with a stiletto. Ever been threatened with a six inch heel?' Oliver chuckled from his reclined position.

'Who threatened you with a shoe?' Hal asked.

'My crazy stalker.' Oliver grumbled and scowled as Barry snorted.

'You've got a stalker Ollie?' Hal chuckled. 'Is it maid Marion?'

'Tell me more about how Hal's a girl, Barry.' Oliver returned and smirked in the face of his intense glare.

'I hate you, Queen.' He grumbled.

Oliver chuckled. 'Don't make fun of me then.'

Sometimes the shifts were exciting, sometimes the shifts were productive - sometimes they highlighted the oddities of your friends.

Come to think of it - why rings? Some species of Lantern he'd met didn't even have fingers and appendages varied dramatically depending on the star system so - Why rings?

Crap. Now he'd be asking that all day.


	6. All-Purpose

**All-Purpose**

_What does Batman keep in that mysterious utility belt?_

The watchtower was silent. The only sounds were the buzz of the systems as electricity coursed through them, or the low level hum of the news channel that took up one corner of the plasma glass.

Batman had been gone an awfully long time to check on a minor fluctuation in the coolant tanks. Superman had offered of course, but he seemed almost insulted and insisted he could check himself, which left Wonder Woman and Superman up in control to watch the various scanners and monitor world news. At the 16 hour mark, most of the world was sleeping or waking up and very little was happening that required the Justice League's intervention. They were idle.

'What does Batman keep in his utility belt?' Superman wondered after a few minutes.

'Don't you know?' Diana asked in surprise and turned to look at him.

The man of steel shook his head. 'It's lead lined.' A smirk twitched onto his lips and he sat back. Besides being weakened by Kryptonite, Superman had trouble clearly seeing things that were shielded by lead. One of his lesser known blind-spots. it was impressive that Batman would know of it - disquieting that he would take advantage of it.

'Why would he have it lead lined?' Diana asked.

'Who knows? It's Batman.' Superman chuckled. 'I know he keeps Kryptonite in a sealed pouch. Maybe it's so I don't know which one?'

'Impressive paranoia. One has to wonder what events would alter a man so much.'

'Your guess is as good as mine.' Superman shrugged. 'He's always been secretive. _Especially_ about the belt.'

'Is it because he has no advanced abilities?' Diana wondered. Batman didn't have superpowers and didn't trust an awful lot of people. He relied on what his belt divulged and his sharp mind to keep up with Diana and Clark.

'Maybe it's to do with the element of surprise?' Superman mused. They'd seen him pull out a range of toys for every occasion from those pouches. Batarangs, smoke, transmitters - there seemed to be a never ending supply. If Superman could see what he had stocked then presumably everyone with a similar ability could as well, good or bad.

'Or maybe,' A rough voice demanded from behind them, 'He likes his privacy?'

the two gossiping superheros jumped in alarm and turned to look at the frowning face of everyone's favourite Bat. If she looked closely, Diana could have sworn she saw the edge of his lip curling. Seemingly pleased that neither had noticed his presence, or perhaps he was merely amused he'd caught them talking about him like many of the other heroes were prone to doing.

'Coolant intake is fine, no blockages.' Batman reported as Diana and Clark hastily looked anywhere but at him. He sat down heavily at his station as though nothing had happened and brought up a few commands, checking valves and pressures before he allowed himself to be caught in a stare.

Superman smiled his lazy smirk. 'So what do you keep in that thing, Bats?'

'Everything I need to, Superman.' He grunted and stood to inspect something else on the other side of the room.

Superman leaned closer to Diana and whispered 'I swear he does this on purpose to look mysterious,'

'It isn't hard with you two,' Batman answered from the other end of the room. Clark stalled, shocked that Batman was able to hear him and Diana laughed.

They would never understand how he managed half the things he did with just a belt and his brain - they were just glad he was on their side.

* * *

A/N: Oh Superman. Everyone since the inception of Batman has asked that question. Bats does not like to be the subject of gossip and likes sneaking up on people, but is that really a surprise? The man was trained by Ra's Al Ghul after all. Gotta have some perks to being a ninja of the night.

Anyway I hope you all had a good holiday season!


	7. Responsibility

**Responsibility.**

_[You make your bed, you lie in it.]_

The League weren't sure how they'd done it - they were sure it had been Booster Gold's idea, but they weren't sure how they'd managed it. Out of the dozens of heroes that had been seriously considered for seniority in the league, the thought of Booster Gold and Blue Beetle making the list was laughable at best but some how, some way, they'd been given senior positions. Or at least, were allowed unrestricted access to The Watchtower at all times.

The more times Batman took their names off the list, the more they showed back up and that did not meet with the Bat's approval. Lantern, Flash and Arrow had been taking bets over how long it would take him to implode through it and of course - how they were doing it.

'I don't know how you two are getting around the systems,' Batman growled unhappily. 'But we've got no-one else to cover shift. Superman tells me you won't blow the Watchtower sky high, I'm disinclined to believe him,'

'I'm sure we'll be able to handle a shift on the watchtower, Batman.' Beetle placated him.

Batman gave him one of his more ferocious glares. 'I hope for your sakes, you prove me wrong.' He agreed. 'There are other senior members who you can consult if an emergency arises. Do not try to tackle it yourselves. Call in ground teams. Your job is to monitor and try not to break anything expensive,' With that, he swept out and towards the Zeta Tube.

They were in charge of the Watchtower. In charge of the _Watchtower_. Beetle turned to look at Booster and laughed. 'Dude, this is seriously awesome!'

'I know, right?' Booster agreed with pride. 'We're in the actual Justice League Watchtower. Batman actually trusts us to be here if something goes wrong.'

'Superman trusts us, Batman thinks we'll blow up the station.' Ted reminded him. 'How did you get us on the list?'

'A little thing called twenty-fifth century technology,' Booster winked. 'Skeets!' A small golden rocket de-cloaked and hovered around Booster's shoulder. 'My awesome robot sidekick!'

'You got Skeets to hack the database?' Ted looked as though he didn't know whether to be impressed or horrified. If Batman ever discovered his precious database had been broken into - They wouldn't even find the bits of Booster's sidekick.

'Yes he did.' The robot replied, obviously miffed. 'I still don't understand why you want to impress _Batman._'

'He was my favourite hero, Skeets!' Booster whined and fell into one of the cushioned chairs with a laugh.

'I thought it was Superman,' The robot replied caustically.

'I can have more than one.' He defended.

'Batman still thinks we'll blow up the Watchtower, Booster.' Beetle reminded him.

'How could we possibly blow up the Watchtower, Ted?' He shrugged and dropped his feet onto a console.

_**WARNING- DANGEROUS LEVELS OF COOLANT - WARNING THERE IS AN OBSTRUCTION IN COOLANT TANK A/SELF-DESTRUCT IMMINENT/WARNING-**_

'Sonova-'

Beetle facepalmed.

* * *

'Do you two idiots have any idea how close you were to blowing up the Watchtower?' Batman raged.

Booster raised his hand and opened his mouth but the words died in his throat with one terrifying glare from the cowled menace.

'Irresponsible, reckless, endangering-' He ranted on. 'You had control of the station for less than_ five minutes!_'

'It was pretty alarming to be texted by the AI in the middle of my editors meeting.' Superman agreed but also withered in the look Batman gave him at his interruption.

'You two are never,_ ever _going to be left alone on that Watchtower again.' Batman growled. He was practically vibrating in rage as he stormed out.

'I hope you've learned your lesson.' Superman added sheepishly.

'We are never going to be allowed back onto that Watchtower again,' Ted moaned.

'I wouldn't say that,' Booster replied with a smile. 'Hey Skeets! I'm going to need you to hack that database again!'

'_Again?!_' The sidekick moaned. 'Why don't I just install a permanent back door while I'm at it?'

* * *

A/N: This one is for my lovely friend Bat-Teen28, She did ask me to do something with Booster and I have been meaning to get around to the dangerous duo of Ted and Booster for a while now.


	8. Unsupervised

**Unsupervised. **

_[How much trouble can three Titans be? Plenty.]_

The corridor was pristine, like most of the rest of the brand-new station. It seemed to be currently being used as storage. Boxes and crates spilled out of the doorways that seemed to go on forever. The duo of snooping teens glanced into every doorway before moving on, past the blacked out rooms.

'This place is immense, Dick.' The red-head of the two noted as he glanced into another room and scowled when he failed to find anything of interest.

'Well, the amount of money Batman was supposed to have dumped on this thing alone trumps every bill and every order for the Bat-Cave put together, Roy.' The taller, dark haired Dick replied, seemingly patient.

The aforementioned Roy whistled appreciatively. 'That much, huh?'

They stalled when they heard the sound of whistling air and running feet. Another red-head had made it around the corner and skidded to a stop in front of them, his path left an impressive streak across the floor.

'You guys should see this place! It's so awesome!' He beamed.

'Wally, what's it like up ahead?'

'More of the same. Storage apparently, I also checked on Lantern, Arrow and Ba- Flash. Dude, what did you put in their drinks?' Wally frowned.

'Oh something Bats was working on. He said he wanted to test it _anyway_.' Dick shrugged and motioned for the speedster to follow.

'But,' Wally worried. 'What if there's an emergency? They'll all be asleep.'

Robin made an irritated sound and pulled back the fabric around his wrist to show a mounted computer. 'The computers find more incidents than we do, I've re-routed the alerts to go through this. If there's an emergency that the computer picks up on, I'll know.'

They continued walking on, past more rooms filled with boxes and crates. With each subsequent room, Roy was becoming increasingly agitated.

'You said there were bound to be cool lasers in here, man.' He whined. 'So far I've seen more bubblewrap than I know what to do with.'

'Don't you trust me?' Robin teased with a smirk.

Roy gave him a dumbfounded look and muttered 'I'd have to be _bat-shit_ to trust you, Rob.'

Dick's smirk fell. 'Bat-shit. Utterly hilarious _Speedy_.'

'Uh, guys -' Wally tried to intervene and end it there but was overridden by Roy's angry reply.

'It's _Arsenal_ thank you!'

'Really? Then why does Arrow still call you-' Dick taunted.

'Guys!' Wally whined but knew it was an utterly hopeless task to separate them. Roy and Dick just loved to have an argument. There was something about them that made them break out in spontaneous teasing whenever they got together. Usually, their prime target was Wally, but this time they'd turned it on each other.

'Then where the heck are all the cool weapons, genius?' Roy demanded triumphantly.

'They're here!' Dick replied. 'We just have to find them! Wally! Are you sure this whole section is for storage?'

'Yeah?' Wally replied. 'It's all boxes and stuff, dude.'

That did not seem to meet with Dick's approval. He moved over to the nearest crate, took a batarang to it and wrenched the lid off.

Reams upon reams of bubble wrap followed.

He finally found something that wasn't bubble wrap and pulled it out of the crate.

'What is it?' Roy frowned.

'I think it's part of a new Javelin upgrade,' Robin hazarded disappointedly.

'Man, that is not cool weaponry.' Roy replied.

Robin looked utterly confused. 'But...Bats moved all his most dangerous stuff up here.' He mumbled to himself. 'If it's not here then where-'

They paused when they heard the sound of sluggish footsteps. A groan bounced it's way down the corridor.

Green lantern struggled around the corner and frowned at them, swaying slightly.

'Wally! You said you just checked on them!' Dick hissed.

'I did!' The speedster returned. 'They were all snoring, dude!'

'Guess that stuff wears off faster than you think, huh Rob?' Roy returned. 'Suggestions?' He added as they backed away from the crate and half-awake Lantern.

'Run?' Wally suggested.

'You three!' Hal snarled in sleepy anger. 'Stay right there!' He activated his ring and spoke into it. 'Oliver! Barry! I found 'em!'

'Run!' Dick screamed in agreement.

They took off.

Hal sighed and ran a hand down his face. 'I'm never living this down,' He muttered as he lumbered into the chase.

* * *

A/N: This was a request by MarberyBlur for the Mini Terrible Trio and honestly - how could I say no? Roy, Dick and Wally absolutely deserve the title of "Mini Terrible Trio"! I sincerely hope this is everything that was wanted because it was a lot harder than I anticipated! The request was for the Mini Terrible Trio to either be running around the Watchtower by themselves or the older ones chasing them and trying to get them to stop.

My friends and I have this saying for when you really like two different ideas. "Why not both?" Yeah. I kind of followed that train of thought.


	9. Check-up

[_Hal Jordan really wants to be on shift - But John Stewart has it all covered. Damn him._]

'Come on Stewart - Please. Please?'

John Stewart sighed in irritation and then looked up at the huge Watchtower screen that was currently filled with the glowing green visage of Hal Jordan. 'No, Jordan.'

'Just fake one little emergency, I can be there within five hours. John, I'm begging you, this is killing me.' It sounded like he was being tortured - like this was his own personal hell.

They'd been at this for quite a few minutes now - and this wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation leading up to Hal's departure either. Hal Jordan had put off going to Oa for as long as he possibly could have, but now there was no avoiding it - no matter how much he tried. The Guardians were many things, but stupid wasn't one of them. They'd sent Kilowog to go and pick him up.

Stewart quirked an eyebrow. Of all the things that had surprised him about Hal Jordan - this was one of the most memorable. He looked desperate from this vantage point. John Stewart had once sat through a horrifically boring film called The Blair Witch Project, Hal Jordan looked remarkably similar. 'It's mandatory.' He replied, perfectly deadpan and gave the other man no amount of room to wiggle.

'I don't belong here!' Jordan wailed as though there had been some great criminal mix-up where he'd been jailed as an innocent man.

'It's your ten year annual ring check-up, Jordan. There's no_ legitimate_ emergency that would require you.' Stewart said for what felt like the billionth time.

Behind Stewart, Green Arrow and Flash were laughing and pulling faces - which really wasn't helping them any but to divert his attention to them now would give Jordan prompt to try and use peer-pressure. It wouldn't work - it never had before - but it would lead them back into a whole new round of argument about saving him from the evil space doctor.

'Not even in the city?' Hal whined. 'There's always something-'

'I'm watching your city just fine, Jordan.' Stewart growled, one eye on the satellite positioned on Coast City. The mere suggestion he wasn't was galling. Stewart was Jordan's partner. He would look after Jordan's city as if it were his own.

Hal took the time to mutter irritably 'Ten years? Can't be ten years-' To himself as Stewart watched impassively.

'Jordan, I've got to get back to monitor duty. If you don't mind?' He asked.

Hal sagged. 'Kilowog says hi,'

'It's nice to hear from him.' Stewart replied diplomatically. It was amazing that Jordan had actually managed to call and beg for so long, since Kilowog was bound to interfere with his plans to fake an emergency. Kilowog's species lived quite a length longer than humans naturally anyway, ten years really wasn't as big a deal to him as it was to Hal. Jordan just wasn't going to accept that it had been that long since he'd began his second career as a Green Lantern. They both knew that this was all about his inadequacy at being thought of as old.

Hal Jordan always tried to pretend he was still a 20-something flyboy.

'Can't you-' He wheedled one more time.

'Goodbye Jordan.' Stewart snapped.

Hal replied in somewhat defeated tones 'Yeah thanks for nothing,' Before the communication ended.

The comm shut down and Arrow burst into laughter as Flash mused 'He really doesn't want to be there, does he?'

'You should have seen him with Jury duty!' Oliver cackled.

Stewart threw a look to the two men howling at their friend's expense and sighed. He doubted that would be the only last ditch call to come through from Hal Jordan.

* * *

A/N: It's been a while, hasn't it? Anyway have some fun at Hal Jordan's expense. I'm not entirely sure that there is such a thing as a ten-year ring check-up but for the purposes of getting on John Stewart's last nerve - there is now. I've got no excuse for this other than pure stupidity. I suppose this is almost like a prostate check - in terms of both horror and insistent denial that the subject needs one. And GL feels old. Very old.


	10. Starbucks

_Batman makes it a point to steal Superman's coffee at every opportunity._

Clark was sure he'd put it down for just a second. He'd turned to grab a muffin at the same time and when he'd turned back - gone. He used his vision to glance around almost casually in case it had simply been moved but it appeared as though he were the only one in the kitchen.

He'd been looking forward to that coffee.

And he knew who the culprit was.

He didn't understand why the man got such a kick out of being a coffee thief. Maybe it was simply to one-up him, maybe it was to emphasise that there were some things even Clark could not stop.

Diana entered the small kitchen and gave him a nod as she headed for the refrigerator. 'Something wrong, Clark?' She asked at his confused expression.

Clark sighed helplessly. 'He did it again, Diana.'

She looked up from the fridge and chuckled lightly to herself. 'I don't understand this little game you two are playing. I thought it was wrong to steal a person's things.'

'It's Batman.' Clark replied. 'I can't make him stop,'

'Why not?' She asked as she pulled a plate of cake from the fridge and went in search of a fork.

'Because every argument we've ever had ends with him getting his way.' Clark bemoaned. 'You know it does.'

She smiled. 'True. Why don't you bring two next time?'

'I tried that.'

'What happened?' She asked as she finally found the cutlery drawer.

'He stole the both of them.' Clark sagged. He just wasn't going to stop, was he? Clark was either going to have to put up with Batman stealing his coffee indefinitely or he was going to have to talk to him.

Both were unappealing.

Batman did not take well to criticism. He'd either come back with a scathing retort, or he'd simply stare until you were sufficiently unnerved to walk away without another word.

Sometimes, Clark was envious of that ability - He knew of a dozen situations he wished he could have avoided with it - but he did not relish being caught in the look that Flash reverently referred to as "The BatGlare™".

He wasn't even sure how Batman could stomach his coffee - Clark took his coffee as caffinated as Flash did.

Diana considered his dilemma for a moment as she tasted her first forkful of cake. He appreciated the help - but he doubted she would come up with anything he hadn't considered himself. Short of sabotaging his drinks - Clark could do little and he wasn't going to do that. Not to Batman.

Not if he wanted Kryptonite in the next container he brought aboard The Watchtower.

And no coffee in the world was worth that.

* * *

A/N: I live! I update! I got a laugh out of the thought that Superman's too scared to confront Batman's pilfering ways! And you do not - ever - booby trap things that Batman intends to eat/drink/use. He tends to go overboard with retaliation.


	11. Not Worth It

_[Sometimes, it's just not worth it. Then again, sometimes it is. Or: Not everyone gets along.]_

The transporters had hardly stopped functioning before one of the three figures lunged for a second, only to be intercepted by the third.

Batman stood impassively and watched the scene with an air of irritation. He did not have time for their petty problems. 'Report.' He demanded. First from the Thanagarian waving her mace threateningly, then to the time traveller stepping down from the platform and then up to the Green lantern attempting to keep a lid on his friend's temper. 'What happened?' He eventually sighed.

'Nothing.' Green Lantern said warningly. 'Nothing happened. Just some frayed tempers.'

Hawkgirl huffed and backed away in a brood. Booster Gold did little other than smile, something that he would refer to as 'Dazzling' no doubt. If the cowl weren't in the way - Batman was sure a questioning eyebrow would have been raised by now. 'The mission?' He asked.

'A success. No thanks to...certain elements.' Stewart sighed.

Batman nodded and turned to the two other League members. 'I suggest you get some downtime while you can and _write your mission report_.' The last line was to Booster Gold who never turned his in on time and those almost exclusively never tallied with the rest of the reports from the same mission.

The irritated Thanagarian and the nonchalant time traveller walked out of the transporter room and down the hall - Booster still attempting to flirt with Shayera.

Batman turned to Green Lantern and motioned for him to walk with him back up to the control room.

John Stewart was a good man and a better leader. used to taking command from his time in the army and a strategist you did not want to underestimate. He took his duties both as a Green Lantern and a member of this League seriously which earned him most of Batman's respect out of a wide pool of candidates.

'Report.' He muttered after a few introspective moments.

Stewart knew the drill. Batman always liked to receive both written and oral reports from those in charge. He clearly expected it, since he launched into a brief overview. 'Despite a poor start - the mission was successful. Little to no casualties and-'

'Booster Gold?' Batman interrupted.

'Wasn't really needed.'

'_Lantern._' Batman growled.

'Kept taking selfies and tweeting.' Stewart sighed at last. 'Called Hawkgirl _"Hot-Wings"_, belittled a planetary ally - Superman should be receiving a_ lovely_ communication about that - '

'I see.'

'You don't think he'll try to continue baiting Hawkgirl?' Stewart looked concerned - though Batman wasn't sure if it were for Hawkgirl or the target of her ire - knowing Stewart, it would be Booster Gold. He knew perfectly well that Shayera could take complete care of herself and resented being mollycoddled in any capacity.

'If he knows what's good for him - no.' Batman replied. Honestly, he doubted himself whether Booster Gold had enough sense to steer clear of her. It didn't take long for him to be proven right.

'Too much for you, Hot-Wings?' Booster teased as they rounded the corner. 'You wouldn't be the first,'

'I'm going to kill him.' Hawkgirl warned and reached out for her Nth metal mace.

John Stewart grabbed her arm and felt the full level of fury in her as she glared at him. 'Not worth it, Shy.' He promised her.

'The hell it isn't.' She replied.

'Walk away.' Batman growled. The last thing he needed was an extended meeting on threatening behaviour within the ranks. Clark would be _insufferable_ about it. Hawkgirl looked as though she were about to argue the point - but one look at Batman's glaring face made her rethink her intent.

She sneered at Booster Gold, wrenched her arm from Green Lantern and walked off.

'Wow. What ruffled her feathers?' Booster asked.

'No. Idea.' Stewart growled and turned to catch up to Hawkgirl.

Batman brooded.

This had better be the end of it.


	12. Batman Parenting 101

_[Sometimes, you've just got to let them do it and find out why it's a bad idea. Batman parenting 101]_

As Batman feared, however - the spat in the corridor was not the end of their problems. Booster Gold seemed to think that a woman who looked virtually disgusted by him was actually really playing hard to get and set out to schedule several of his shifts aboard the Watchtower with her. Some were caught in time, some...were not.

Batman did not want to interfere with this - not least because talking to Booster Gold left him with an irritated headache, but because he recognised a futile effort when he saw one. Booster would not accept any of his or Lantern's warnings about Shayera Hol and he was disinclined to waste his breath when he could be doing something much better with his time, Clark be damned.

He was all but determined to let it play out and would only interfere if he felt he needed to. He really could have just made Clark aware of the situation and left him to it - After all, Superman was meant to be the leader of this rag-tag group, wasn't he? - but this was out of Clark's depth of knowledge. Diana's too. He would try to force them to be friends, smooth out the surface cracks but, really, the underlying tension and anger would still be there. The farmboy could never accept that some people just would never be friends. Diana was used people knowing and working with everyone as a well oiled team. Her sisters and lifestyle on Themyscira hadn't taught her very much about team dynamics. She was the princess there, everyone listened and did as she told them. In _this_ league, however, things were a little more democratic and a lot more selfish, heroes or not. And that was Batman's territory.

Really, he was just waiting for the point where Shayera's well laid patience snapped like a twig. It shouldn't take very long. He'd given it about a month of Booster's pestering before the Thanagarian could take no more.

He smiled bitterly to himself when he was once again proven right.

'What. Happened?' He demanded in his most menacing voice. The door to the medical wing had hardly had time to open and admit him before he was glaring at the source of his anger.

Booster looked up from the examination table with the most miserable puppy-dog look on his face as Manhunter cast a long look at the dark knight standing in the doorway. With no answer forthcoming from the patient, Manhunter saw fit to answer for him. 'Hawkgirl asked him to spar with her and then beat him. Severely.'

If he were a lesser man, Bruce would have smirked. It almost seemed a bit tame for Shayera, considering what he'd seen her do to enemies after all. He merely sighed and turned to J'onn. 'Can you give us a moment?'

'Certainly, Batman.' The Martian replied as Booster gaped and pleaded mutely not to be left alone with him. _Please, not that. he'll turn me into a pretzel! What about Habeas Corpus?! _Manhunter, however, was completely aware of how Batman operated and trusted him wholeheartedly. Booster looked like he was about to make a mad hobble for it until he was caught in Batman's signature glare. Neither person moved until the door shut behind Manhunter.

'Is there any point in defending myself?' The man asked pathetically.

'I don't know. Is there?' Batman demanded. Booster looked up at his scowl of indignation and for a moment - looked as though he were going to try and defend himself but the seconds dragged on silently. Batman decided to help him along. 'I warned you to stay away from Hawkgirl.'

'I was!' He lied.

'Scheduling your shifts to coincide with hers is the complete opposite of staying away.'

Booster had the decency to wince at that very accurate piece of information. He picked at a torn portion of his costume and muttered 'I'm sorry?'

Sorry would hardly make up for him having to deal with this instead of several other situations that could have cropped up. 'I'm not who you should be apologising to.' Batman replied.

The time-traveller paled at the thought of having to face the woman that had dislocated six of his fingers with every sign of absolute pleasure. 'Anything but that!'

'You will apologise.' Batman replied firmly. 'And the next time I warn you about something - you had better listen. Do not make me talk about consequences.' He intoned darkly. He disliked having to return to a situation he had presumed resolved. It made him - in Flash's words - _cranky as hell._

With the terror of the Bat firmly delivered, Bruce turned to leave the med-bay and deliver a form of the same speech to Shayera. Putting your teammate in medical was not the best strategy. At some point they may need Booster.

He met J'onn in the corridor as he left. The Martian made a good show of pretending he wasn't listening, but Bruce knew better than that. Sometimes, you couldn't help what you picked up. He paused to ask 'He_ is_ going to be fine, isn't he?'

Manhunter considered it for a minute before telling him 'Physically? Yes. Mentally, this episode may take some recovery.'

'Good.' At least they had a - possibly brief - reprieve from Booster's antics around the station.

He could at least tell Clark with absolute honesty that the situation had been resolved when the Kryptonian eventually heard about the spat. It had better be. Because if he had to have a talk with Carter again, he would be a whole lot less amicable and the man would _wish_ that Clark had gotten wind of this first.

How had Booster even gotten access to the rota to schedule himself and Hawkgirl together? The rota was for senior members of the League only. He turned to Manhunter to ask, but the Martian intercepted him before he could even frame the question. 'I'm afraid I do not know how Booster Gold is getting Senior Member access.'

Bruce gave an accusatory glare. J'onn was well aware that it was socially unacceptable to use even low level telepathy on friends.

'I do not need my abilities to know what you are thinking, Batman.' J'onn added.

Was he getting that predictable?

* * *

A/N: I've been struggling to come up with some new concepts for Shifts for a while but this one grabbed me and wouldn't let go.

If this were anyone but Batman I'm sure Hawkgirl would have gotten a high five and the smallest of reprimands. I love Booster Gold immensely but seriously - he got his comeuppance I think.


	13. Superboy

A/N: With the news that Netflix are in fact bringing back YJ (Start cheering!) I'm writing this. Very very minor crossover with YJ. A one off.

Conveniently enough this is also the first time I've taken a stab at The Man Of Steel. Not sure I pulled him off...Also more Batdad in action! For being a screwup himself - Bruce gives the best dadvice. My friend and I have a running joke that the side-kicks (whoops, sorry - The Team) think he's the best mentor ever - the adults think the opposite.

* * *

He didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want to talk about _it_. Him. Superboy. Not with Diana and certainly not with Bruce.

That night, after he'd gone home, he'd stared at himself in the bathroom mirror and asked himself how Luthor had gotten hold of his DNA.

How he could have made those clones of him.

Clark Kent had seen his share of twists - but this, this was new. This was strange. That clone was _him_. Had his powers. Clark had grown up on a farm in the middle of nowhere - It wasn't easy sometimes, but it came with it's advantages. He had space to get used to his own strength and his own power and space enough to form an unbiased opinion of the world and his role in it.

This clone did not have that luxury. He'd been thrown into the deep end right off the bat. He'd turned on his creators, what was to stop him turning on The League?

If Clark were honest with himself, he'd admit he was also just slightly terrified - of being a mentor and a father. He'd never been asked to teach someone with his kind of ability, he wouldn't even know if Conner _wanted_ it; he wouldn't blame the boy after the reception he'd gotten - after Clark had clapped eyes on him. Clark hadn't even had the luxury of getting used to the idea that he was responsible for another living being. Suddenly, Conner was there - an angry, confused boy that should never have existed in the first place.

Clark had done a good job of avoiding Diana - knowing that the Amazon would be on Conner and Bruce's side but avoiding Bruce had been trickier.

It wasn't that he was terrified there was too much Luthor in Conner - rather the opposite. He was terrified there was too much of _him_ in Conner.

'-Superman are you even paying attention?'

Clark snapped up straight and looked across the table at Bruce. 'I'm sorry, I was thinking about something completely different.' He admitted and wished he didn't catch the knowing look Bruce was giving him under the cowl. Like he knew what Clark was currently thinking about.

Diana turned to give him a concerned look but he brushed it off and listened as the meeting that Batman had called between the three of them resumed.

'As I was saying,' Batman griped. 'It's been unusually quiet of late -Nelson and Zatara are reporting the same - No activity from any of our known adversaries. it's quiet out there. Even on the magical front.' If Clark didn't know any better, he'd swear Bruce was almost disappointed in the criminal fraternity at large.

'Onto recent…. developments - Luthor is claiming he had no idea his research facility had been perverted at all - and we can't pin it on him. All the evidence was destroyed in the chaos.' Pity. Clark winced at the reminder that Luthor had once again outsmarted them and ran rings around the judicial system. Maybe not today, but one day, they'd nail him for good.

'Added to that - We have developing tensions in Bilaya - Bee is becoming a nuisance.'

'Would that not be a good exercise for the children?' Diana asked. 'They said they wanted work.'

'It's an unstable political regime.' Bruce replied.

'I never said anything about engaging. An Amazon's first ever job is not to fight - but to relay information. Strictly reconnaissance.' She replied, laying out her idea. 'With the proper precautions, it could be the perfect opportunity to prove themselves.'

'Red Tornado did say they were getting a bit of cabin fever.' Clark pitched in.

'And if they're caught?' Bruce returned.

'They aren't affiliated with The League, are they?'

Clearly, Diana had been spending too much time with Bruce.

'I'll think it over.' He agreed. 'That seems to be it for this month.'

Thank god. He needed to get back and make sure Luthor stayed where he could see him. Clark pushed back the chair, ready to depart with Diana as usual.

'Clark? A word.'

He groaned and stalled feet from the door. Diana threw him an amused expression as she left, shutting the door behind her.

Clark turned back to Batman, who was watching the world turn below the window with suspicion. 'If this is about Conner-' He grit.

'You seem to be under the impression that your guidance won't make a difference in the grand scheme of things, Clark. I just wanted to tell you that you're wrong.'

His jaw tightened as he strode up beside his friend and replied 'That boy was made by Luthor to kill and replace me.'

'That may be what Luthor intended, but that isn't what the boy could become.'

'Bruce, you have to know -'

'What I _know _is that there is a teenager down there right now who is confused, powerful and in need of someone to help guide him.'

'Then you do it.' Clark snapped back. 'You seem to have it all figured out.' _You do it, Di, do it. Anyone but me. I'll screw it up, I've already screwed it up._

Bruce turned to look at him, clearly giving him a look that questioned his intelligence. 'I don't know what he's going through. You do. You've been there.'

'Bruce-'

'Clark. That boy is your son.'

'You're just not going to stop, are you?'

'No.' Bruce replied and then turned to walk away. Clark was left staring down at the Earth, even guiltier than he had minutes before.

Deep down, he knew that everything Bruce had just said was right.

How was he always right?


End file.
